Statement on negotiations with the DFT

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Superintendent William F. Coleman released the following statement today regarding negotiations with the Detroit Federation of Teachers, the union representing the District’s teachers:

“We are both working diligently to resolve our differences. Retired Wayne County Circuit Judge James Rashid has joined the round-the-clock bargaining process as a facilitator assisting the state mediator. He joined the process at 7 this morning. I have directed the head of our Department of Human Resources to notify all of our other unions that we are not exercising our right to lay them off at the end of 3 days of a teachers strike. We are taking this step to ensure that these employees are there for the opening of school. We are informing our unions that we will make a decision on strike related layoffs by next Wednesday. We still intend to open schools on Tuesday, September 5, 2006.”

About the Detroit Public Schools

The Detroit Public Schools, founded in 1842, is one of the nation’s largest public school systems. Detroit Public Schools is a school district of choice and is open to children who live outside the city. The District offers numerous competitive academic and career technical programs.

Among these world-class programs are the Foreign Language Immersion and Cultural School, Michigan’s only public school of its kind; Davis Aerospace, one of few college prep high schools in the country where students can obtain a pilot’s license; the Detroit School of the Arts, a multiple award winning performing arts high school; and Crockett Technical High School, a digital technology high school.

For more information about the District, visit our website at www.detroitk12.org.